By Maire Simington

We all know the power of a two-year-old’s inces- sant use of the question
“why?” as she seeks to understand her place in the world.

Why does she have to take a
nap — or a bath for that matter?

Why must she go to bed or eat
more vegetables? As parents we
sometimes grow weary of those
questions and shut them down
because we know best — responding with the typical “because I
say so.” The trick is not to stifle
that curiosity but to channel it
into learning and discovery. The
ensuing dialogue between parent
and child creates new possibilities, a love of exploration and yes,
even innovation.

In school I felt challenged by
those teachers who asked the Socratic questions that probed the
how and why of my thinking,
making me work harder and question my assumptions on any given topic. Socratic questioning is not for the faint of brain but the
deeper dive into understanding opens windows in the mind and allows us, very much
like the two-year-old, to engage and find our
place in the world.

The art of questioning has been praised byphilosophers, humanists and scientists forcenturies. Voltaire asked us to “Judge a manby his questions rather than his answers.”His advice was echoed some two centurieslater by anthropologist and ethnologistClaude Levi-Strauss who noted that “Thewise man doesn’t give the right answers, heposes the right questions.” Theoretical physi-cist Stephen Hawking has said, “I am just achild who has never grown up. I still keepasking these ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Oc-casionally I find an answer.”While we keep our sense of awe aboutquestions and the discoveries they unlockduring our years in school, it has been my ob-servation that at some later point that enthu-siasm wanes. Our lives become filled with ca-reers and the demands of getting ahead. Weshift focus from taking the time for reflectivequestions and switch focus to making deci-sions, often quickly because of time con-straints. A nagging question, however, re-mains: should swift answers trump asking theimportant questions?

At work we are often praised for makingquick decisions or snap judgments and thosetraits earn us respect for being “quick on ourfeet.” While some situations undoubtedly callfor thinking fast, others require reflection andcritical thinking prompted by those how andwhy questions so that we can find a betteranswer.

In recent years author Simon Sinek hasagain brought focus onto the question“why?” Trained as an ethnographer, Sinekteaches at Columbia University, is an adjunctof the RAND Corporation and has written abook titled First Start with Why. At a TED(Technology, Entertainment and Design) con-ference in 2009, Sinek asked several probingquestions of the audience: “How do you ex-plain when things don’t go as we assume? Orbetter, how do you explain when others areable to achieve things that seem to defy allassumptions?”Sinek’s premise is based on what he callsthe “golden circle” or the how, what and whywe do something. He states that we can allexplain the “what” we do easily. The how isnot much harder, but the brain teaser is theheart of the matter — why do we do what wedo? His probing is reminiscent of the philoso-phers and thinkers mentioned earlier. Sinekobserves that “By ‘why,’ I mean: What’s yourpurpose? What’s your cause? What’s your be-lief Why does your organization exist? Whydo you get out of bed in the morning? Andwhy should anyone care? Well, as a result,the way we think, the way we act, the way wecommunicate is from the outsidein, it’s obvious. We go from theclearest thing to the fuzziest thing.But the inspired leaders and the in-spired organizations regardless oftheir size, regardless of their indus-try — all think, act and communi-cate from the inside out.”He likens the what, how andwhy to the anatomy of our brainswith the neocortex level being ableto respond at the “what” or ratio-nal level, and the middle sections,the limbic portions of our brain,corresponding with our feelingsand emotions. As he explains,when we communicate from theoutside in, we address rationalthought, but it is hard to strike anyemotional response. The how andthe why come much closer to doingthat. The question why is also in-spirational, he says. “It is thosewho start with ‘why’ that have theability to inspire those around themor find others who inspire them.”This concept is powerful. Organizationsare undergoing tremendous change today andemployees are trying to understand why theyneed to adapt to the changes. A good leaderis able to anticipate the “why” questions thatwill be raised because she will have askedthem herself with the same enthusiasm shedid when she was two years old. Some ofthat earlier questioning in our childhood con-tinues to be useful today as we question whysomething needs (or does not need) to bedone. Asking “why?” continues to be a criti-cal question that sharpens thinking.

Maire Simington (Society Vice Presidentat Large) works as the Director of CareManagement Services for Banner Health,which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.She holds a bachelor’s in English fromHofstra University, a master’s in English fromArizona State University (her Phi Kappa Phichapter), an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a doctoratein English/Rhetoric from Arizona State University. She writesfrequently for national publications and is a peer reviewer forthe Journalof American Culture as well as the Journal of HealthcareManagement. You can reach her at msimington1@cox.net.

The Power of Why?

To see an 18-minute TED video onSinek’s talk, visit:http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_